Nooby question

[Grue]

First off, I would like to say hello and how shocked I am to find a forum dedicated to this car o.o .

Second, I'd like to know if 4WD Tercels are in any way 'rare,' or just solid cars (which I assume it is just the latter). In late Spring (May), I found a 4WD Tercel Station-Wagon for sale in the Sunday newspaper for $200 (U.S.). I was looking for my first car and figured it would be worth the look, assuming it'd probably be completely destroyed; probably not even drive off the person's yard.

It turned out to be the complete opposite! Although it's pretty rusted (typical Toyota), the thing started immediately, and everything was running, no serious engine probs, 4WD still works. All that was dead was the radio, and the parking brake had two seized lines.

But I digress. I was hoping I might get some advice from other owners to see if putting some work into the car to get it in good shape would be worth it; was hoping I may be able to turn it around and maybe sell it for something nicer down the road.

Your thoughts?

(P.S.: I Googled this question...but didn't see anything truely definitive)

[So_Powerful]

I guess I will try and answer your question with two questions. How much mileage is on it and how long do you plan on keeping it? I've sunk quite a bit of money into my tercels (most recently $800) but that's because I love them and I'm going to keep them a long time. I also do a lot of the work on them myself so that keep costs down. If you can do most of the work yourself, I wouldn't bother buying or keeping it. If you can maintain your car yourself and fix be proactive in your repairs these cars won't disappoint and will last a long time. Just my thoughts.

[Petros]

welcome to the list Grue,

where are you at? i have bought and sold a few of these cars, but money makers they are not. Where I live in the Pacific Northwest (north of Seattle area) these cars are still popular and reasonably common (more so than most 24 to 26 year old cars). They are worth keeping running as simple, practical and reliable year round transportions. I do not think they will ever be a "collector" car such as a sports car or convertible, they sold them in large quantities as an "entry level" 4wd car.

Around here they sell for a low of $100-300 for examples that need work, sometimes major work, to $600 -900 for good runners and a few rare examples will advertise in the$1200 to 1800 range, I do not know if they get that, but that appears to be the upper limit for a 25 year old econo-box, even with 4wd.

I have found if you get them cheap enough, and can turn them into good runners (not "restored" or even in good condition, just reasonably clean), they can be quickly sold in the $700-800 range. They will be hard to sell quickly for more than that, unless you have one near perfect, and you get lucky.

These are great little cars, and worth it to keep as many on the road as possible. But they are not big money makers in terms of fix-up and sell. I paid for half my collage by getting non-running cars, fixing them and cleaning them up, and selling them fast and cheap. The big profit cars were classics and sports cars, but the buyers were the most picky. The fastest turnover, as it is today, is for good running economy cars for under $1000.

If you like to save these cars from the crusher, by all means rescue as many as you can, and make a few $ off them in the process. But do not expect big return on your investment.

[ARCHINSTL]

Petros (as usual) has an excellent reply.
So_Powerful's reply is accurate, but I think he meant "If you can't do most of the work yourself, I wouldn't bother buying or keeping it. " Just one example was my brake job (F&R) back in '06; my cost for parts was around $230 - and real brake shops were quoting $900 for the same work...
Tom M.

[So_Powerful]

Yep that was suppose to say "can`t" not "can".

[Grue]

Thank you all for the replies, I do appreciate the quick response. I would have said something sooner but I just had my internet hooked up today and previously I had to go to McDonalds for it (lol). Anyways...

To answer So_Powerful, it had about 192k miles when I purchased it. But only a few months later, and I've already put about 4k on it myself. I do alot of long-distance travel; 36 mi trip to work (one way), 400 mi trip from one of my parents to the other (one way, still), and for school (if I don't get into the dorms this year), a 40 mile (one way) trip to the college, then 40 miles back home. I was a bit nervous subjecting the car to such torture, but it runs better than any other vehicle that anyone owns in my family (not to mention cheaper on gas). Even if it still does run 'like new,' I guess that wouldn't make it very tempting to purchase for any decent sum.

@Petros, I live in the upper peninsula of Michigan. I've never seen any of these older Tercels around here in my life other than the one I purchased, but then again, this is probably due to the extreme climate not catering to owners of small vehicles. Most people drive their trucks and sedans for safety (against deer and the elements). That is part of why I assumed they were 'rare', I suppose. I was shocked to find any Toyota for less than $1000. That's usually the base price for the older models around here.

As for maintaining the vehicle, I know how to perform a number of the repairs. I'd even do some body-work if I had the equipment, but given the feedback from you guys, I can't imagine acquiring such tools would be worth the payout.

If the car keeps running as well as it has, I think I may just keep it alive for as long as it will go. I've only had to have a few minor repairs done to it. The muffler broke off at the catalytic converter so I had to have it sliced off and had a straight pipe replace it. The previous owner had replaced the front seats with two different, torn up seats so...I bought covers. The speakers were shot and the stereo didn't work so I had to replace that but...yeah...it's been great otherwise .

Thanks again for the feedback. I'm sure I'll have other questions down the road

[takza]

It's a good vehicle for snow...as long as the road is plowed. Good idea to use oil in the frame and doors/hatch if you expect to keep it usable for a while...especially if it's already rusted pretty good. Driving it longer distances at a time is best for the car anyway....highway miles....but change out the transaxle oil.

So what do people up there do to avoid the deer other than drive bigger vehicles? Do lights or deer whistles do any good?

Only thing I know about deer is if you see one...expect another...slow down or stop. If you don't see one...you either hit it or don't?

From camping in Mich I've noticed that most deer are located down around the farms...not in the woods....at least in summer and non hunting season.

[Grue]

Well, hopefully it'll be a light winter again this year. The state can't afford to plow the roads to any useful degree anymore so they're all usually a mess. At least I can fall back on the 4WD .

And not to carry things too off topic but..

Deer are just drawn out by the usual plentifulness of grassy fields that farms provide. It makes them easier to see there, but they don't seem much less populous outside of them...you just don't see them til the last minute elsewhere.

Which leads me to my other point. Bigger vehicles are just safer against a head-on impact with deer than in low-riding, small cars where the deer could kill the occupants of the car by breaking through the windshield, into the car. I've seen a few people use whistles et al, and we've had a few vehicles with them, but it never seemed to make any difference.

[neddflanderz]

your question about keeping the car for a long time will answer itself. after you having terc for a year or so, I wouldn't even consider not owning one ever again.

[Highlander]

I've used deer whistles for around 15 years driving in the CO mountains, where you can't see the deer until you round the corner. They WORK!, at least for me. The deer seem to hear the whistle and are looking around before I round the corner, and as soon as I can see them, they're already booking away. This also applies to squirrels, rabbits and beaver (though they're pretty slow regardless). Its cheap insurance, and replacing the T4WD isn't, 'nuff said.

[takza]

Most people don't seem to know much about the deer whistles...probably because it's real hard to know? Your observations make sense though. I have a couple on my truck...they were on sale for $2 for the pair.

I have an observation as far as squirrels though. Seems in the spring on about the first really warm day...they come out on the roads and are still half asleep...seems I manage to hit at least one each year before either I get wise or they do.

[Highlander]

Maybe its not so much that the squirrels get wise, but more that they get WIDE and FLAT ne'er to scamper again, eh?